Independent spirit

Muse breaks free of Radiohead comparisons with energetic live shows

It's doubtful there's ever been a story written about the band called Muse that hasn't compared it to British forebear Radiohead.

That may be exaggeration, but not by much. Even before the trio from Teignmouth emerged with its 1999 debut, "Showbiz," the litany of "Radiohead clone" put-downs started stacking up.

"To be honest, I think it's something that's spreading around the press a bit," affable Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy said. "It's just been passed down like some kind of Chinese whisper from some review in the [British music publication] NME from about seven years ago. I don't think anyone at our gigs or who has bought our albums would think that."

It isn't just that Muse keeps the spirit of "The Bends" and "OK Computer" alive with grand epics of its own, matching its attraction to the apocalyptic while adding traces of Queen-y bombast, industrial synth sheen and classical flourishes.

More so, it's that Bellamy's high-pitched, prone-to-dramatics voice, though perhaps equally influenced by the late Jeff Buckley's, is a dead ringer for Thom Yorke's.

"I've always found it very difficult to see the comparison myself," Bellamy said. "Maybe in the early days it made sense, because we chose to work with John Leckie, and he produced [Radiohead's] early albums. ... I really don't mind it. ... In the beginning, whether they were insults or compliments, I was generally impressed that we were being talked about at all."

All Bellamy and his mates--bassist Chris Wolstenhome and drummer Dominic Howard--ever wanted was to find a way out of Teignmouth.

"We got into a band because we needed to invent some night life for ourselves," Bellamy said. "Coming from a small town, you grow up dreaming of wanting to escape. But we never could have predicted [this] would take us this far."

Fast-forward to now, and more people are talking about Muse than ever before--and taking the trio seriously. The reason: the band's quite galvanizing live show.

Whether its over-the-top albums, such as this year's "Absolution," ever get respect from critics hardly matters now. Through repeat visits and a few high-profile appearances, Muse has spawned a growing cult of fans.

"I'm not sure if it's because of the Internet or whatever other grass-roots thing it might be, but somehow we've become a bigger live band than anything else," Bellamy said. "But it really seems like the more we tour, the more we play, the more people get to know us. We've never really broken wide on mainstream television or radio. It's always been by playing live."

As little as five years ago, there was no room for Muse within so-called alternative radio's narrow aesthetic.

"When our first album came out," Bellamy said, "it was standing up against things like Korn and Limp Bizkit. Everything was dominated by hard-rock and new-metal."

But the musical climate has changed recently, thanks to the widespread popularization of indie rock and outlets that play it.

"A few more truly alternative bands have broken through, like the Strokes and the Flaming Lips and Coldplay," Bellamy said. "I think that has opened up the gates for us."